Kumamoto Ayaka
Ayaka (くまもとアヤカ, Kumamoto Ayaka) is a young warrior who befriends Asuna, and travels alongside her two companions, Mayoke and Saya. Ayaka is fierce and battle-ready, being the most aggressive of her friends. She is also a very kind and open person. Background Ayaka comes from a family of five other children, all whom look and act alike her, with the exception of Ayaka's love for fighting. Ayaka was always discouraged by her parents from being such a tomboy. The Kumamoto family was always very well off, with Ayaka's father particularly wary of his social status and political career. Ayaka's mother eventually understands Ayaka and tells her to find her own way. Ayaka leaves her brothers and sisters and starts out on a journey. Ayaka eventually meets Mayoke and Saya. They journey together with the common bond of being elementals, and try to hamper the SYSTEM in any way they can, including destroying supply routes. This is how they eventually meet Asuna. Together, they realize their destiny is at Council Headquarters. They journey there together on clemdas that Mayoke summons. Appearance Ayaka has dark hair that she wears up in a spiky bun. She has more tomboyish features than the other girls. Ayaka's color theme revolves around green, with Mayoke's being pink and Saya's being light blue. They all wear each others' colors in their hair as pins, but their primary outfit usually consists of only their own color, along with a gold trim. Ayaka wears a green tie-cape with short shorts and a belt. It is notable that her first appearances involve a simple great kimono, along with Mayoke's pink kimono and Saya's blue kimono. Personality Ayaka is tough, assertive, and bold. She is never afraid to speak her mind. She is quick to help people out, and defends Asuna when they first meet despite being strangers. She is also notably very curious about boys, getting excited when Asuna mentions she's looking for a group of guys. Ayaka is quick to challenge herself and others, and is never afraid of being at a disadvantage. When sparring, she wants everyone to spar against her all at once. A big part of Ayaka's personality is her love for battling. She gets fired up in every encounter. On Fire Island, she even chooses to stay behind everyone else to distract the SYSTEM's beach stationed forces. However, she catches up to them quickly after decimating the entire encampment. Saya has noted that Ayaka often overdoes it when it comes to fighting. She shares this trait with Kiyoshi; when hearing that some Council classes might be battle based, they both have a similar reaction. The final facet of Ayaka's personality is easily her devotion and loyalty to her friends. She is easily the closest girl to Asuna at the moment. Ayaka is the first to try to help her fight off Himiko, although Saya stops her from interfering, saying that it's Asuna's fight. Ayaka calls Asuna their best friend. Abilities Ayaka is first portrayed in a very ninja-like fashion, appearing shadowed on a rooftop. She moves swiftly, possibly because she secretly trained for a lot of her childhood. Ayaka is probably the most physically fit of her group, because Mayoke's power is much more static, and not much has been seen of Saya's abilities. Physical Ayaka is very fit, quick on her feat, and very skilled with her Guon Dao, which is named Nyoi-bo after Son Goku from Journey to the West, a Japanese epic novel. She doesn't have too polished of a style; thus far she seems to just swing it around and cut things. Like many elementals, or even to a greater extent, Ayaka is able to power her physical strength and speed beyond a normal human's. Bamboo Extension Powers Ayaka has, like Baku Sen'nin, an ele type that requires a medium. Her medium is bamboo, and she has only been seen to use her own weapon, hinting that her power is further limited to this special weapon. With her Nyoi-bo staff, she is able to take down hundreds of enemies with relative ease. She can slice through metal, suggesting her ele reinforces the power of the staff. She can extend the staff to several times its normal length. While the Nyoi-bo extends, it is very dangerous; Ayaka has extended it through several SYSTEM bots before. Once fully extended, Ayaka swings her staff around violently, demolishing anything within her range. The weapon has been shown to grow to around 30 ft long. However it should be noted that the blade at the end never changes size or shape. Her power is limited to the bamboo part of the weapon. For convenience and perhaps a more close quarters fighting style, Ayaka has been shown to shrink the Nyoi-bo down to barely 6 inches long, plus the blade, which again never changes size. Part in the Story To be continued x_x Relationships Hatomi Asuna Asuna meets Ayaka when the girls save her in Dezide from some intrusive SYSTEM Bots. They allow her to join the group soon after. While traveling to the council and getting settled, Ayaka and Asuna grow close as friends. Ayaka eventually considers Asuna a best friend to her. Ayaka is hostile toward Masuyo's actions during his and Asuna's relationship struggle, and Ayaka appears to be on Asuna's side at all times, perhaps blindly. She also wants to help Asuna take down Himiko, but Saya suggests that it's Asuna's fight. Mayoke Mayoke is one of Ayaka's closest companions. The two seem to share odd chemistry, with Mayoke constantly critiquing Ayaka's reckless and sometimes absent-minded behavior, similar to the way Akio sometimes critiques Kiyoshi. Ayaka has a respect for Mayoke, but their mannerisms are quite different. Ayaka does tend to enjoy Mayoke's summons. The two hold a strong connection and have a common bond in the way they grew up. Saya Saya is also a very close friend to Ayaka. She tends to be quite emotionless, but occasionally offers her input to Ayaka. Because Saya is often the voice of reason, Ayaka respects her, but tends to speak over her anyway. Mayoke almost always points this out. Saya finds most things boring, but does show both concern and respect for Ayaka. Trivia * Ayaka's original name was Nhung, a Vietnamese name.